City of Syracuse Industrial Development Agency 333 West Washington St, Suite 130 Syracuse, NY Tel (315) Fax (315)

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1 City of Syracuse Industrial Development Agency 333 West Washington St, Suite 130 Syracuse, NY Tel (315) Fax (315) Minutes Industrial Development Agency Board of Directors Meeting Thursday April 25, :30 A.M. Common Council Chambers 304 City Hall 233 East Washington St. Syracuse, NY Board Members Present: William Ryan, John Gamage, Pamela Hunter, Catherine Richardson., Esq., Donald Schoenwald, Esq. Staff Present: Ben Walsh, Meghan Gaffey, Esq., Sue Katzoff, Esq., Matt Kerwin, Esq., Judith DeLaney, Debra Ramsey Burns. Others Present: Giovanni LaFace, James Trasher, Joe Girardi, Catherine Johnson, Greg LeVan. Media: Rick Moriarty. I. Public Hearing Butternut St. LLC Mr. Ryan opened the Public Hearing at 8:32 a.m. by reading verbatim the Notice of Public Hearing on the Project. A copy of the Public Notice is attached and included in the minutes. After reading the notice, Mr. Ryan asked if anyone in attendance wished to speak in favor of the Project. James Trasher of Clough Harbor& Associates, the engineer for the Project, spoke in favor. Mr. Trasher told the Board the Project would consist of 18,000 sq. ft. of retail including a pharmacy, twenty four residential apartments, and four townhouses. He noted in response to a question from Mr. Walsh the number of townhouses might be reduced to a minimum of two based on Zoning considerations. Mr. Gamage asked if the townhouses would be rental units and Mr. Trasher responded affirmatively. Mr. Ryan asked the owner, Giovanni Laface, who was also present about the status of negotiations with the small grocery store on the corner of McBride and Butternut Streets. Mr. Laface replied he had been talking to the owner in regards to acquiring the property but the owner was not ready to sell. Mr. Ryan also commented he continues to be concerned about the proliferation of drugstores in the Butternut St area. Mr. Laface replied the only other one near the proposed site was a Rite Aid Drugstore a block away. Mr. Ryan asked about the status of financing for the Project and Mr. Trasher said the project had received a commitment for financing from First Niagara Bank. 1

2 Mr. Ryan then asked an additional two times if anyone else in attendance wished to speak in favor of the Project. No one else spoke in favor of the Project. Mr. Ryan then asked if anyone in attendance wished to speak in opposition to the Project. No one spoke in opposition to the Project. Mr. Ryan asked an additional two times if anyone wished to speak in opposition to the Project. No one spoke in opposition to the project. Mr. Ryan closed the Public Hearing at 8:40 a.m. II. Call Meeting to Order Mr. Ryan called the meeting to order at 8:40 a.m. III. Roll Call Mr. Ryan acknowledged all Board members were present. IV. Proof of Notice Mr. Ryan noted the notice of the meeting had been timely and properly provided. V. Minutes Mr. Ryan asked for a motion to accept the minutes from the March 27, 2013 Board of Directors meeting. Mr. Schoenwald made the motion. Ms. Hunter seconded the motion. Mr. Ryan then asked for a motion to accept the minutes form the April 1, 2013 Board of Directors Special Meeting. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Ms. Hunter seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A MOTION ACCEPTING THE MINUTES FROM BOTH THE MARCH 27, 2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AND THE APRIL 1, 2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING. VI. Committee Reports Governance Committee Report Ms. Richardson said the Committee had reviewed the draft 2012 Annual Report prepared by staff at a meeting held immediately preceding the start of the Board of Directors meeting. She first complemented the staff and their intern, Heather Malinowski, who assisted with the report preparation, for their hard work on the project. She then reported the Governance Committee members had approved a motion to recommend to the Board of Directors that the Board approve a resolution adopting the report as the Agency s 2012 Annual report noting the correction of some minor typographical errors. Mr. Ryan then asked for a motion. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE ADOPTION OF THE 2012 ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE AGENCY AS PRESENTED. Butternut St. LLC Ms. Katzoff advised the Board they were being asked to approve resolutions to undertake the Project. She noted a Public Hearing had just concluded on the Project and said the description of the Project 2

3 would be modified to reference the number of town houses as two to four. She then advised the first resolution for the Board s consideration was a SEQRA resolution, constituting the Project as an unlisted action, naming the Agency as Lead Agency for purposes of SEQRA, noting an uncoordinated review and determining the Project will have no significant effect on the environment. There being no discussion, Mr. Ryan asked for a motion to approve the SEQRA Resolution. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A RESOLUTION CLASSIFYING A CERTAIN PROJECT AS AN UNLISTED ACTION PURSUANT TO THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT, DECLARING THE AGENCY LEAD AGENCY FOR PURPOSES OF AN UNCOORDINATED REVIEW THEREUNDER AND DETERMINING THAT THE PROJECT WILL NOT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT. Ms. Katzoff then asked the Board to approve an Inducement Resolution for the Project. She noted the Project is in a highly distressed area and that finding has been incorporated into the Agency agreement. Mr. Gamage asked if Ms. Katzoff would discuss the changes in provisions of the NYS Law regarding IDA s that were recently enacted by the Legislature. Noting the Board had received in their agenda packet a legal alert from Hiscock & Barclay on this subject she said one provision reinstated the prohibition on granting financial assistance to retail projects with several exceptions, projects that would: attract a significant number of visitors from outside the region; goods or services not otherwise reasonably accessible; or located in a highly distressed area. She noted the Butternut St. LLC Project was in a highly distressed area. She also discussed provisions regarding the recapture of state sales and use taxes, record keeping and documentation, compliance reporting, and document availability issues. She advised that Hiscock & Barclay has updated all of the Agency s s transactional documents to bring them into compliance with the changes. Mr. Gamage asked about the possibility of recapturing the local share of sales tax if a project did not perform as expected. Mr. Walsh responded it was possible perhaps to do so through the Agency s the Uniform Tax Exemption Policy and would explore the issue further. Mr. Gamage also asked how a determination would be made that a project was located in a highly distressed area. Ms. DeLaney responded the City s Research Department had provided a listing of census tracts in the City qualifying under the statute and Mr. Walsh said staff would arrange to have a census tract map of the City produced specifying the qualified tracts. After some further discussion by the Board members Mr. Ryan asked for a motion to approve an Inducement Resolution for the Project. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Gamage seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A RESOLUTION UNDERTAKING THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION AND EQUIPPING OF A CERTAIN PROJECT, APPOINTING THE COMPANY AS AGENT OF THE AGENCY FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION AND EQUIPPING OF THE PROJECT FACILITY AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE AGENCY AND THE COMPANY. Ms. Katzoff said the next resolution for the Board s consideration was a PILOT resolution for the Project. Mr. Walsh advised the Board the PILOT conforms to the Agency s Uniform Tax Exemption Policy (UTEP) 3

4 utilizing a Class 4 (distressed) schedule. There being no discussion, Mr. Ryan asked for a motion to approve a PILOT resolution for the Project. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A RESOLUTION APPROVING A PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAX SCHEDULE AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY THE AGENCY IN CONNECTION WITH A CERTAIN PROJECT UNDERTAKEN AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMPANY. Ms. Katzoff then asked the Board to approve a Final Resolution for the Project noting such a resolution would authorize the Chairman to execute documents on behalf of the Agency. There being no discussion Mr. Ryan asked for a motion. Mr. Schoenwald made the motion. Mr. Gamage seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY THE AGENCY IN CONNECTION WITH A CERTAIN PROJECT UNDERTAKEN AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMPANY. COR Inner Harbor Company, LLC Ms. Katzoff notified the Board of a potential conflict of interest regarding this Project. She said a member of her firm, Gerald Stack, had advised the company on a matter unrelated to this Project and another member, Connie Cahill had discussed financing of this Project with the Company but neither were representing the Company with respect to the application before SIDA. Ms. Katzoff wished to make the Board aware of this and request the Board consider waiving the potential conflict. Ms. Katzoff said that her firm would seek a reciprocal waiver from the Company which would include a consent for her firm to continue to represent the Board should an actual conflict arise. Ms. Richardson commented in the past the Board simply required a waiver letter from the Company and conditioned upon receipt of same, she was comfortable waiving the conflict. Mr. Ryan asked for a motion waiving a potential conflict of interest in this matter as set forth above. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A MOTION WAIVING A POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THIS MATTER. Cor Inner Harbor Company, LLC Mr. Kerwin advised the Board they were being asked to approve a resolution authorizing the Agency to declare its intent to act as Lead Agency for the Project for purposes of SEQRA. He advised the Board the review would be fairly involved in this case; it would not be a short process, as there would be a number of Agencies involved. He said the Project constitutes a Type 1 action and the Agency would issue a positive declaration. He noted an environmental impact statement would be required due to the size and complexity of the Project. Mr. Walsh then introduced Joseph Girardi of COR who made a short presentation to the Board regarding the Project. Mr. Girardi said the Project would entail the construction of approximately 120,000 sq. ft. of office/retail space, a 150 room hotel, a 150,000 sq. ft. satellite campus, 210 apartments, 6,000 sq. ft. of community space, 80 townhouses and 30 condominiums. He said the overall Project would take 5 to 10 years to complete and would be done in phases. He estimated 500 permanent and 100 construction jobs would be created as a result. 4

5 Ms. Katzoff advised the Board the owner occupied townhouse and condominium portion would not be part of the Agency s project but was included for purposes of SEQRA. Ms. Hunter asked Mr. Girardi what would be included in the first phase. Mr. Girardi responded dependent upon demand, he anticipated planning and design, the hotel, condominium units, townhomes and the first mixed use retail/residential apartment building. Mr. Gamage asked if the Company owned the property needed for the Project. Mr. Girardi responded the Company was under contract with the City of Syracuse to acquire the land. Mr. Schoenwald asked about the status of the proposed satellite campus for Onondaga Community College (OCC). Mr. Girardi said no formal arrangement was in place but the Company hoped to meet with the new President of OCC soon to discuss. Ms. Katzoff asked Mr. Girardi about an anticipated start date for the Project once SEQRA was completed. He responded the Company hoped to start within the next few months. After some further discussion Mr. Ryan asked for a motion to approve the SEQRA resolution. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A MOTION APPROVING A RESOLUTION CLASSIFYING THE ACQUISITION,CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPPING OF A CERTAIN PROJECT AS A TYPE I ACTION AND DECLARING THE INTENT OF THE SYRACUSE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY TO BE LEAD AGENCY FOR PURPOSES OF A COORDINATED REVIEW PURSUANT TO THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT. James Street Apartments, LLC Ms. Katzoff advised the Board they were being asked to approve a resolution authorizing the Agency to participate in additional mortgage financing for the Project. Ms. Katzoff noted the Board had approved the Agency to undertake the Project in She said the amount of the additional mortgage financing by the Company was $250,000 and the Agency s action in the matter would not require an additional public hearing. There being no discussion, Mr. Ryan asked for a motion. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A MOTION AUTHORIZING A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE AGENCY S PARTICIPATION IN ADDITIONAL FINANCING BY THE COMPANY IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROJECT FACILITY AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH. Lakefront Redevelopment Area Mr. Walsh advised the Board staff was in the process of securing quotes for landscape work in the Lakefront Redevelopment Area as required by the Agency s Procurement Policy, but as of the time of the Board meeting had not yet received three. In the interest of time as the mowing season is already underway Mr. Walsh requested the Board to authorize the Chairman to approve a contract with the lowest responsible bidder after all quotes are received. Mr. Gamage asked with the Agency was still responsible for the landscaping, as opposed to the City, who now owns the land. Mr. Walsh responded that the Parks Department will bid out for the work directly next year when their current contract expires. There being no further discussion Mr. Ryan asked for a motion. Ms. Richardson made the motion. Mr. Schoenwald seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A 5

6 RESOLUTION GRANTING AUTHORITY TO THE CHAIRMAN TO AWARD A CERTAIN CONTRACT FOR GROUNDS WORK IN THE LAKEFRONT REDEVELOPMENT AREA TO THE RESPONSIBLE CONTRACTOR WHO PROVIDES THE LOWEST QUOTATION. Destiny USA Ms. Katzoff reported to the Board that all documents have been executed relative to the settlement agreement recently reached with the Company. VII. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss Mr. Ryan asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Hunter made the motion. Ms. Richardson seconded the motion. ALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 10:45 A.M. 6